This update is a tool to enhance communication between the NCAA national office and the Division III membership, with distribution to athletics directors, senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives, presidents, national SAAC, conference commissioners and the NADIIIAA listserv. We encourage athletics directors to share this communication with their athletics department members. Please contact Louise McCleary to include an item or share comments, and remember to check out the Division III governance
homepage for the latest news and information.
The 2019-20 NCAA Division III compliance forms
are now available. Institutions are no longer required to execute the following forms: “Certification of Compliance for Institutions” and “Certification of Compliance for Staff Members of Athletics Departments.” Instead, effective Aug. 1 and due no later than Oct. 15, an institution’s president/chancellor and athletics director will be required to attest (via video and electronic form) to certain compliance obligations via the NCAA Learning Portal. The school’s Single-Source Sign-On administrator will give the president or chancellor and director of athletics access to the Learning Portal and assign the course.
To learn more about this process, you are invited to participate in an upcoming WebEx one-hour webinar training session. These webinars are designed specifically for the school’s Single-Source Sign-On administrator; however, anyone is welcome to join. The webinars are scheduled on the following days (all times listed are Eastern) and can be accessed by clicking the link next to the date:
During the webinar, NCAA staff will walk through how to set up your school’s president or chancellor and director of athletics in the Learning Portal, assign the courses and highlight the system features.
Click here for additional information in the upper right blue box titled “Attestation of Compliance Obligations”.
Apply Soon: Division III Student Immersion Program
For the fifth year, Division III will support 40 ethnic minority students to attend the annual NCAA Convention on Jan. 22-25 in Anaheim, California. The application process will be available on Program Hub, titled “2020 Division III Student Immersion Program
”, beginning Aug. 15 and closing at 5 p.m. Eastern time Sept. 30. Ethnic minority students, preferably juniors and seniors with a strong interest in a career in Division III athletics (coaching and/or administration), are encouraged to apply. Final selections will be announced in early October. At the Convention, the students will be exposed to Division III, its members and the governance process. In addition to the scheduled Division III programming, there will be welcome and debriefing meetings. The goal is to build a pipeline of talented ethnic minority candidates who have an interest in Division III coaching and/or administration to ultimately
help diversify the division’s athletics administrators.
Request Now:LGBTQ OneTeam Program
Are you interested in making your campus or conference more LGBTQ inclusive? Request a Division III LGBTQ OneTeam facilitator today. Thirty individuals are now certified to facilitate the Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Program – a free two-hour interactive session for coaches and administrators, at a Division III institution or conference. For more details and instructions on how to book a free session, please visit the Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Program webpage.
SAAC Constitution Best Practice Resource
The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) recently released a best practices resource to assist member schools with creating campus SAAC constitutions. The goal of the Guide to Developing an Effective SAAC Constitution is to assist institutions in creating a highly engaged SAAC. The guide includes procedural templates. In addition to this resource, check out the national SAAC webpage for additional resources.
Have you used your $500 purchasing website credit? The Division III Identity Initiative purchasing website now features new Gameday the DIII Way and LGBTQ OneTeam items. Log in through My Apps and select the Division III Purchasing icon or click here. Do not forget that a $500 credit is available for each institution and conference through Aug. 31
for purchases on the site. Access the site by entering the email address of your institution's director of athletics (or for conferences, the commissioner's email address) as the username, and the password you created. Purchasing credit for the 2019-20 academic year will open Sept. 10. For assistance, contact Kristen Zeedyk (kristen@sourceonedigital.com) at Source One Digital.
NCAA Division III Webinars
A Division III webinar offering an overview of the NCAA Transfer Portal will be held 1:30 to 2 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, Aug. 6. The webinar specifically will cover assigning access and inputting student-athlete names for permission to contact.
Future webinars will be conducted from 1:30 to 2 p.m. Eastern time on the following dates and topics:
Sept. 3 – Championships: How to Submit a Championships Bid.
Oct. 1 – NCAA.org Navigation.
Nov. 5 – NCAA Transfer Portal, Part II: Transfer Tracer.
Each webinar will be limited to the first 250 participants. All past webinar PowerPoints are on the Division III website.
Participation Request:NCAA Injury Surveillance Program
For the 2019-20 academic year, NCAA staff strongly encourages member institutions to participate in the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (ISP). The ISP is a data collection initiative designed to track and analyze medical illnesses and injuries that result from sport participation. The NCAA’s Sport Science Institute (SSI) partners with the Datalys Center, an independent non-profit research organization, to manage the ISP and to help inform injury prevention policies and practices in college sport.
Currently 22% of the Division III institutions participate in the ISP, while almost 75% have compatible software and the ability to participate. The request is for each institution to report data on two teams during the 2019-20 academic year. Reporting benefits include the following:
Enhancement of the quality of student-athlete care by furthering scientific research regarding top health and safety risks.
Athletic trainers, who submit the data, receive 10 continuing education credits per year.
Contribution of more Division III-specific data to NCAA national health and safety policies and sport rule changes.
Access to current data that can inform injury prevention practices.
To learn more about how your school can participate in the ISP, including an FAQ resource, click here.
NCAA Championships Site Selection and Bid Process
The NCAA recently announced the start of its 2022-26 championship site selection campaign. The NCAA is seeking hosts and sites for 86 of the 90 NCAA championships each year over four academic years, spanning 2022-23 through 2025-26. The timeline for the bid process is as follows:
Aug. 26: Bid portal opens.
Feb. 3: Bid responses due.
March-September: Committee deliberations, recommendations and approvals.
Congratulations to the faculty athletics representatives chosen to attend the ninth FAR Fellows Institute Oct. 18-20 in Indianapolis. Click here for the list of Institute participants.
Application are being accepted for the fifth annual Athletics Direct Report (ADR) Institute, which will take place Jan. 22-23 in Anaheim, California at the NCAA Convention. Each institution and conference office may nominate an athletics direct report via the NCAA Program Hub
. Nominations opened June 15 and close at 5 p.m. Eastern time Aug. 15. Eligible nominators include commissioners, presidents/chancellors and directors of athletics. ADRs also may self-nominate for the Institute. The purpose of the program is to engage Division III ADRs in best practices to oversee and manage athletics departments and to improve the relationships between ADRs and their presidents, athletics directors and conference commissioners. The two-day program includes both networking opportunities and interactive discussions with ADR peers and other expert presenters. Event details are available
here. ADR participants will receive a registration fee waiver to the NCAA Convention to continue their professional development. The Institute also provides travel, meals and lodging for all participants. Please contact Leah Kareti with any questions.
Did you know that 360 Proof offers coaches modules? This series of five videos, all three to four minutes long, shares critical information about student-athlete alcohol use, consequences, and most importantly, how to communicate with student-athletes about alcohol use. These modules are available without a program log in and can be accessed at 360proof.org/coaches.
Mark your calendar for the 360 Proof webinars scheduled for the 2019-20 academic year.
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 1 p.m., Jason Kilmer, University of Washington, Cannabis/Marijuana and Possible Impacts to Student-Athletes.
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 3 p.m., Jeff Linkenbach, The Montana Institute, Positive Community Norms.
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1 p.m., Tom Fontana, University of Vermont, Alcohol and Team Bonding.
Tuesday, March 10, 3 p.m., Byron Zamboanga, Smith College, Why Do Student-Athletes Drink?
Wednesday, April 8, 1 p.m., Amaura Kemmerer, Northeastern University, Engaging Parents as Partners in Prevention.
In early August, every NCAA member institution will receive the 2019-20 NCAA Drug-Testing Program resource for athletics administrators. The resource provides information about the NCAA drug testing protocol and drug education guidelines. Administrators should take note of the changes related to the THC threshold and the new banned substance classes, including the requirement for a medical exception approval for narcotic use. Schools also will receive the 2019-20 NCAA Drug Policies for Your Health and Safety brochure, which is intended to provide new student-athletes with information about NCAA banned drugs and drug classes.
Interassociation Guidelines
With the goal of protecting the life and well-being of all student-athletes, new SSI educational resources were developed on the topic of Interassociation Recommendations:Preventing Catastrophic Injury and Death in Collegiate Athletes. These resources also include an accompanying checklist and Frequently Asked Questions
. Together, the resources, which provide comprehensive recommendations on preventing catastrophic injury and death in collegiate athletes were endorsed by the NCAA Board of Governors as Association-wide policy under the Uniform Standard of Care Procedures. In addition, the recommendations have been endorsed by 13 external scientific and medical organizations and illuminate areas of consensus about the best ways to prevent catastrophic injury and death in collegiate athletes.
Effective June 1, the Division III governance staff released the updated version of the Division III Guide to Strategic Athletics Communication on Campus
. In 2012, the Division III College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) executive board conducted a survey of Division III sports information and athletics communication directors. The survey results were the foundation of the NCAA Division III Guide to Strategic Athletics Communication on Campus resource. NCAA staff created a 2018-19 working group to oversee a new survey and update the resource. Based on feedback and data collection, the governance staff and the Strategic Communications Working Group compiled key data, analytics and best practices that positively will impact athletics communication and sports information directors while simultaneously
having a positive impact on athletics departments. After 12 months of hard work, this new resource is now available. If you have any questions, please email Adam Skaggs, assistant director of governance communications.
Vassar College is the recipient of the July Division III Diversity Spotlight Initiative. In a campus collaboration, the athletics department hosted the LGBT SportSafe Inclusion Program. The program uses a benchmarking framework, the 3-Peat Model, to help athletic leadership champion a culture of respect and inclusion. The 3-Peat Model addresses the importance of programming, policy and public awareness at all levels of sport, while offering incentives to institutions, teams and leagues that reach inclusion goals. Click
here for more information and a photo gallery.
The Diversity Spotlight Initiative recognizes and promotes outstanding diversity related projects, programming and initiatives occurring on Division III campuses and in conference offices. All selected recipients receive $500 toward their next diversity initiative. To submit an initiative for consideration for May, email Louise McCleary, with a brief statement (no more than 500 words) as to why your institution or conference office deserves to be the spotlight recipient. Attach a video or photo if applicable. The nomination deadline is Aug. 21.
Diversity Tip of the Month
The nomination process for the eighth annual NCAA Award for Diversity and Inclusion is currently open, and nominations will be accepted until Monday, Sept. 16
. The award represents a partnership formed by the NCAA and the Minority Opportunities Athletics Association (MOAA) to recognize and celebrate the initiatives, policies and practices of institutions and offices that embrace diversity and inclusion across the intercollegiate athletics community. This can be achieved through community service, professional development, hiring practices or programming activities that enhance opportunities for people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and experiences. Click here
to submit a nomination for the Award for Diversity and Inclusion. Two letters of support are required for all nominations, and self-nominations are welcome. To learn more about the eligibility requirements and the nomination and selection process, click here.
The winner will be recognized in January at the 2020 NCAA Convention and will participate at the MOAA Symposium to be held in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention in June. Questions and requests for additional information can be sent to inclusion@ncaa.org.
The NCAA Division III Special Olympics Spotlight Poll is a story-telling initiative located on ncaa.org/D3SpecialOlympics
. It features new stories each month that highlight a Division III and Special Olympics joint activity or event. The story with the highest number of votes on the 25th day of each month is the winner. That institution or conference receives $500 to use for its next Special Olympics event. Written and digital submissions both are accepted. Featured stories are selected based on inclusion of the student-athlete perspective and Division III messaging. To submit a story for consideration, email d3specialolympics@ncaa.org.
Contacts, evaluations and the NCAA Transfer Portal. Beginning Oct. 15, Division III institutions may voluntarily include student-athletes in the NCAA Transfer Portal, so it is important to brush up on recruiting legislation applicable to transfer prospective student-athletes in Bylaw 13.1.
Permission to Contact. According to Bylaw 13.1.1.2, athletics staff may not contact four-year college prospective student-athletes (potential transfers) without first obtaining written permission to do so, regardless of who initially reaches out. Traditionally, written permission to contact for student-athletes transferring from DI, DII or non-NCAA institutions was secured through the first institution’s athletics director (or designated administrator). However, since October 2018, for student-athletes from NCAA Division I and II institutions, appearance in the NCAA Transfer Portal qualifies as permission to contact for Division III purposes.
Withdrawn from Four-Year College. Permission to contact is not needed for student-athletes who have officially withdrawn from their prior four-year collegiate institution
NCAA Transfer Portal. When Division III transitions from read-only to full access in the NCAA Transfer Portal, student-athletes looking to transfer may request their current Division III institution use the transfer portal to provide permission to contact and other relevant information. If institutions decide to use the portal, it can be used to provide permission to contact on behalf of a current student-athlete and provide information that is generally found in a transfer tracer form.
Self-Release.
The Division III self-release will remain intact. Division III student-athletes will continue to have the option of granting permission to contact other Division III institutions using a self-release form (Bylaw 13.1.1.2.1). The form, which allows a student-athlete and another Division III institution to communicate privately for 30 days about the possibility of transferring, must be forwarded to the director of athletics at the institution of interest. If a student-athlete remains undecided that student-athlete may issue a second self-release; however, the institution of interest must notify the student-athlete’s current institution within seven days of receipt of the
second self-release.
Recent Interpretations
Official Interpretation
: Application of Outside Competition Legislation to non-NCAA Sports Used for Sports Sponsorship. (III). The NCAA Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee confirmed that the outside competition prohibition during the playing and practice season only applies to a non-NCAA sport when the institution uses the non-NCAA sport for sports sponsorship (e.g., if the institution uses sailing for sports sponsorship, its sailing student-athletes could not compete on an outside sailing team during the institution’s playing season). [References: NCAA Division III Bylaw 14.7.1 (outside competition); Bylaw 14.7.2.5 (competition as individual/not representing institution)]
Staff Interpretation
: Time Lapse Between Foreign Tours (III). The academic and membership affairs staff confirmed that an institution shall not engage in a foreign tour in each sport more than once every three academic years as opposed to once every three calendar years. For example, if a member institution used its foreign tour opportunity in a particular sport during academic Year 1 (e.g. spring break), it may engage in another foreign tour in the same sport during any portion of academic Year 4 (foreign tour No. 2 permissible). [References: NCAA Divisions III Bylaws 17.29.1.4 (time lapse between tours); and a staff interpretation (09/01/1989, Item Ref. b), which has been archived]
2020 NCAA Convention - Division III IPOPL
The 2020 NCAA Convention Division III Initial Publication of Proposed Legislation (IPOPL) will be available through the NCAA website Aug. 15, 2019
. The IPOPL presents all proposed amendments to NCAA legislation that were properly submitted from the Division III membership in accordance with the July 15 deadline in the NCAA legislative calendar. The IPOPL may contain proposals that are sponsored by only one-member conference or 10-member institutions. If a proposal is not properly co-sponsored by Sept. 1, 2019, the proposal will be automatically withdrawn. Sponsors of the proposals are permitted to refine and change amendments in any manner germane to the proposal as presented until Sept. 15. Such changes may either increase or decrease the modification set forth in the original proposal.
No new proposals may be submitted by the membership for the 2020 Convention after the July 15 deadline has passed. Member institutions and conferences that wish to offer and suggest revisions to a proposal are encouraged to contact the proposal’s designated primary contact person. Such contacts should be made as early as possible and before the Sept. 15 deadline to ensure time for appropriate consideration by the sponsors.
The IPOPL is not mailed to Division III institutions. The online version of the IPOPL continues to contain all the information of the former hard-copy version and can be printed from your computer in the traditional format. The IPOPL is produced directly from LSDBi each time it is downloaded. Therefore, the content of the publication may change each time it is accessed from the NCAA webpage. As modifications or corrections are made to proposals during the sponsor modification period, updates will be made to LSDBi and those changes will be reflected in this document. The 2020 NCAA Convention Division III Second Publication of Proposed Legislation (SPOPL), which will include proposals
sponsored by the Division III governance structure, will be available online Sept. 23. The 2020 NCAA Convention Division III Official Notice, which will include final versions of proposed legislation, will continue to be available to Convention attendees in both printed and online formats. The Official Notice will be available Nov. 15.
Please contact Bill Regan or Jeff Myers if you have any questions regarding the online versions of either the IPOPL or SPOPL.
NCAA Division III Manuals
Institutions will receive the 2019-20 NCAA Division III Operating Manuals shortly after Aug.1. A full version of the manual can still be obtained online via the Legislative Services Database for the Internet (LSDBi) and a PDF may be downloaded at ncaapublications.com on Aug. 1. Did you know you can custom generate a manual to fit your needs? This is one of the most popular features of LSDBi. Users can create a custom manual containing only the bylaws that are of most value to them. Click here
for instructions.
Division III Rules Test
The 2019-20 NCAA Division III Rules Test is now live, and the 2018-19 test is no longer available. The 2019-20 test is administered online and may be accessed through the MyApps page on ncaa.org, or by clicking this link
. Instructions on how to take the test, an accompanying PowerPoint and a Proctor Login also can be found there. Athletics directors, compliance officers or other designated individuals may view test results by signing into the Proctor Link using the institution’s UserID and password. Please note that this will differ from the user and password combination used to sign into MyApps. If you cannot remember your institution’s sign-in information, or if you have any additional questions about the 2019-20 Rules Test, please email D3CoachesExam@ncaa.org.
Getting in the Game
As you begin the 2019-20 academic year, don’t forget the Division III: Getting in the Game educational tool (ncaagetinthegame.org). Getting in the Game is a video guide designed to provide institutions with general compliance education for athletics administrators and a helpful walkthrough for student-athletes to navigate the process of completing annual NCAA compliance forms. The site also provides links to the Division III homepage and other helpful resources.
Subcommittee for Legislative Relief
The NCAA Division III Management Council Subcommittee for Legislative Relief’s Information Standards, Guidelines and Directives have been updated to include the Presidents Council’s approved amendment to the Graduate/Postbaccalaureate Student Eligibility (Bylaw 14.1.9) directive for compelling and exemplary academic success. The updated information standards, guidelines and directives can be found at ncaa.org on the
Division III Subcommittee for Legislative Relief (SLR) page under the Resources heading Division III Information Standards, Guidelines and Directives.
Reminder:Educational Programming Available for New Chancellors and Presidents
NCAA staff is available to help orient new chancellors and presidents to college sports through the Chancellors and Presidents Engagement Program. Engagement opportunities can range from webinars to on-campus visits. The program is geared toward chancellors or presidents in their first two years on campus. Contact Gretchen Miron for more information or to set up an engagement.
NCAA® Team Works™ Service Challenge
NCAA® Team Works™ wants to help your student-athletes up their community service game. During the service challenge, schools will coordinate and track service hours through our service challenge partner, Helper Helper. Helper Helper will track your department’s service hours through their innovative custom app and report out the results on a weekly basis. The winning schools will be recognized with the NCAA Team Works Award for their respective division. Join the competition now
. By signing up, you'll join more than 300 college athletics departments already using Helper Helper to organize and track community service experiences for your students. Learn more about Helper Helper at https://helperhelper.com.
Women Leaders in College Sports
Register today for the Women Leaders in College Sports National Convention that will be Oct. 13-15 in Phoenix. This event is designed to develop attendees advance in their career and connect with a community of like-minded women. From Sunday through Tuesday, nearly 1,000 attendees from athletics and business will experience premier leadership development and career advancement programming.
NCAA Postgraduate Internship Program
The NCAA postgraduate internship program represents a tremendous opportunity for early career professionals to develop and grow, connect with individuals across the membership and acquire tangible experiences that will be transferable to any career path. The application for the 2020-21 Postgraduate Internship cohort will open Aug. 5, via the NCAA Program Hub, with a deadline of 5 p.m. Eastern time Sept. 6.
Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee Meeting
Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 16
Honors Committee Meeting
Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 16-17
Research Committee Meeting
Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 24-25
Interpretations and Legislative Committee Meeting
Indianapolis, IN
Oct. 18-20
FAR Fellows Institute
Indianapolis, IN
Oct. 21-22
Management Council Meeting
Indianapolis, IN
Oct. 29-30
Presidents Council Meeting
Atlanta, GA
This email was sent to NCAA Division III chancellors and presidents currently serving on committees, athletics direct reports, athletics directors, faculty athletics representatives, senior woman administrators, sports information directors, senior compliance administrators, commissioners, assistant/associate commissioners, provisional/reclassifying members and Division III SAAC, based on contact information in the NCAA Directory.
National Collegiate Athletic Association, 700 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204 US